Every now and then, her ochre gaze turned to the distance, gazing beyond the forest to Mortal City. Now that I had rescinded my invitation to Henri—a decision that still sat like a stone in my gut—tonight would be a Descended-only event. I wondered at what she saw down the path to my old home, or perhaps what she feared seeing, but I felt no answers come across our bond.
Of all the arrivals, the representatives from the other realms had me spellbound most of all. A yellow-eyed couple arrived on the backs of two tigers, no doubt hailing from Faunos, Realm of Beast and Brute, while two women with fiery orange gazes, swathed in crisp white linen, rode in on slow-lumbering camels from Ignios, Realm of Sand and Flame.
At first, I was enamored by the horseless carriage-like contraption that could only be a creation of the innovative Sophos, Realm of Thought and Spark. But when the pair emerged and studied the palace with a scientist’s eye, I remembered Henri’s warning about the deadly fate of mortals invited to study there, and I was once again reminded of the importance of my plans.
The mortals needed a Crown that was willing to defend them—a Crown that could turn the tide in the coming war. I could not let anything, not even the friendships I was beginning to form here, get in the way of that.
Sorae was unusually agitated by the arrival of the foreign Descended, a reaction I couldn’t make sense of. The Kindred’s Forging spell nullified a Descended’s magic while they were outside the borders of their terremère. Only the Crowns and on-duty soldiers of the Emarion Army were exempt from this loss of power, and an uninvited visit from either was tantamount to an act of war. As a result, these foreign Descended were powerless, by far the least threatening of the ball’s guests—or so I thought. Sorae, it seemed, disagreed.
My stomach was a jar of angry moths as I returned inside to get dressed. Even Sorae’s trill of approval when she saw the final product couldn’t calm my frayed nerves.
A knock rapped on my door. When I opened it, I was met by a charismatic archangel. Aemonn wore a suit of white and shimmering gold jacquard, emblazoned with flame-like swirls of metallic beads, and a feather-trimmed cape that cascaded from his shoulders into a wide train on the floor.
It was an outfit fit more for a King than an escort. He even wore a wreath of gilded leaves threaded through his flaxen hair. I had to laugh at the ballsy audacity—I should have expected no less of Aemonn Corbois.
He smiled, teeth dazzling like a string of pearls. “Hello, gorgeous,” he crooned. His deep blue eyes scoured my body with no attempt to mask his carnal interest.
“You’re shameless,” I teased, flicking a finger at the diamond buttons that adorned his jacket. “Trying to steal my spotlight?”
He took a lock of my snowy hair and twirled it between his fingers. “Only hoping to bask in your glow for the evening, Your Majesty.”
I rolled my eyes, but the exaggerated sweetness of his charm had me smiling despite myself.
He pulled a cream-colored velvet box from his pocket. “A gift, in honor of your official presentation as Queen.”
I flipped open the lid to find a golden medallion on a long, thin chain. Engraved at the center was a crest encasing the outline of a phoenix, its flaming wings spread wide as it emerged from curling wisps of smoke. Two tiny sapphires marked its eyes, and a dark ruby lay over its heart.
I ran my finger along the delicate etching. “What is this?”
“The sigil of House Corbois. The ruby represents the blood of Lumnos that runs in our veins. The sapphires…” He tapped a finger beside his matching blue eyes.
“And the phoenix?”
“A message to our enemies that House Corbois always survives. Though many have tried, no one can destroy us.” He smiled. “In the end, we always rise again.”
An ominous chill crept down my spine.
“A shiny collar to show the rest of Lumnos that I’ve been claimed?” I let out a breathy laugh, trying to conceal how his words had rattled me. “What are you going to do next, pee on my leg to mark your territory?”
Aemonn lifted a shoulder, his smirk suggesting I hadn’t been too far off the mark. “You could see it that way. Or you could see it as a pretty little warning to anyone considering a Challenge. Perhaps a reminder that you’re a Corbois now, and if they try to bring you down, you’ll only come back stronger.”
I twirled the delicate pendant in my fingers. One way or another, it was a gilded threat. It remained to be seen who was its real target.
I handed it to Aemonn, then gathered my hair as he draped the necklace around my throat. His hands brushed the sensitive nape of my neck, sending goosebumps rippling down my arms.
He ran his hand along the dimpled flesh and gave a dark chuckle. “There. Now you’re ready.”
I glanced back at Sorae and felt a pulse of affection as she gave me a last once-over, but it curbed sharply the second she turned her gaze to Aemonn. Two trails of smoke wafted up from her nostrils.
“Behave yourself,” I called out to her. “Don’t eat the Faunos tigers.”
Aemonn took my arm as we stepped into the hallway. “You really are stunning, Diem. I’m the luckiest man in the realm tonight.”
I shot him a look. “I’d hardly call blackmailing me luck. Your scheming paid off well.”
He halted in his tracks. “My scheming?”
“Come now, Aemonn. We both know you only agreed to stay quiet about Henri if I agreed to make you my escort for the ball.”
“If that’s what you think, then I have no interest in standing by your side tonight.” He released my arm, and his eyes filled with icy malice. “I don’t need to extort a woman to get her attention. Believe it or not, I do have some self-respect.”
I blinked in confusion. “But Luther said—”
Aemonn laughed bitterly. “Of course he did. Kindred forbid anyone get close to you that he can’t control unless he poisons you against them first. I should have known—it was always his favorite trick with Uncle Ulther.”
“Are you saying Luther lied?”
“Diem, this was his idea. He doesn’t want you marrying that mortal any more than I do. He knew I had already asked you to the ball, so he offered to persuade you to accept in order to keep whatever-his-name-is away from the palace.” He rolled his eyes, muttering, “I should have known he had a plan to use it against me in the end.”
I frowned deeply. “So you never threatened to tell anyone about Henri?”
“What good would that do? House Corbois would look weak, you would be Challenged by every House. Then I’d be stuck with Luther as King, a fate worse than death.” His lip curled back in a sneer. “I’m the last person who would share that with anyone.”
I scanned his face for some evidence of a lie, finding only irritation and disgust. I rubbed my temples and wrestled with this new information.
I didn’t want to believe it, but it made some sense. Luther clearly didn’t want me to be with Henri, and he’d been unequivocal that there was no line he wouldn’t cross if he believed he was protecting me.
“Are you really so surprised?” Aemonn asked. “Have you not noticed how quickly he isolated you behind his closest friends? Do you think Eleanor and Taran are the only Corbois who desire to cozy up to the new Queen?”